Trifter

One of the most beautiful places in France, St Emilion is a bustling medieval town, whose people would once have never moved more than fifty miles from its walls. Their descendants now cater for international tourists-including the four of us from Nouvelle-Zelande (New Zealand). It had taken us less than an hour to drive there (well, Mike did, with help from our map-reader, Jo) through scenic countryside from Bordeaux. Then we were able to leave the car in its garage, because this charming town is easy to access and compact enough that you can see it all on foot.

Many tourists spend only a few hours in the town, or perhaps a day, but if you are able to stay for a night or two St. Emilion will take you on a journey through history.

Accommodation

To experience the true flavour of St Emilion it is best to ignore the hotels and book several nights in one of the many private ‘gites’ (furnished, self-catering holiday cottages or apartments) in or near the town. An online search reveals a wide range, from the inexpensive and spartan, to luxurious chateaux. We found an apartment in the centre of the old town. It was cool, comfortable and inviting. The original stone building had been unobtrusively modernised to provide a large well-equipped kitchen living space, a sitting room (with a television that we did not need to use) two spacious double bedrooms and two bathrooms, one ensuite. A tiny vine-covered courtyard just below the cobbled street was an inviting spot to return to for cheese and wine after a day’s sightseeing.

Days start with flinging open the shutters to a place where so much living is done outside. Women still sweep the doorsteps and walk to the boulangerie for the morning’s fresh bread and croissants. Once the wine shops and cafes open, the day has begun in St Emilion.

St Emilion’s Wine

St Emilion’s ancient streets are lined with tiny shops selling the wine that is produced nearby. This is an ancient wine-producing region – grapes have been grown on the warm hillsides around the town for centuries. Its vineyards are modest in size but produce wine of a quality that is known worldwide. You can take a vineyard tour on a small train; listen to lectures, available in French and English, from experts on grape growing and winemaking; and of course, sample and purchase the local produce.

The History

St Emilion’s unique architectural heritage continues to be carefully preserved. Walls of crumbling cream stone stretch along its borders, with grassy moats and the remains of ancient gates. A church whose chancel dates from the fourteenth century advertises next Sunday’s activities on its notice board – and provides a cool quiet haven inside. A vast key (available from the tourist office for a small fee) gives access to the medieval belfry that can be seen from all parts of the town. A steep and breathtaking climb is rewarded with an equally breathtaking view across the narrow, bustling streets of shops and houses to the imposing square keep of the castle and then to the manicured vines beyond.

The older Eglise Monolithe church, dug out of the limestone cliff in the years between the ninth and eleventh centuries, is the largest of its kind in Europe. A tour of its catacombs, containing coffins and several sarcophaguses, invokes thoughts of the monks who lived and died in St Emilion so long ago. Their prayers seem to have lingered, especially in the tranquil cloisters of the Dominican monastery and the cave known as the hermitage, where St Emilion took refuge in the eighth century (escaping crowds of pilgrims after performing miracles in a nearby town).

Returning to modern times and needing to eat, you find restaurants and cafes in St Emilion offer the food for which France is famous, from simple to lavish, served outdoors in a garden setting or in grand style within. So much choice – so little time. It is always hard to leave places of great beauty. St Emilion is no exception.